This Ford Bronco R Race Prototype is a Baja 1000-Ready Insight to the 2020 Production Model
Built upon the same architecture as the soon-coming consumer 4×4.
Back in 1966, Ford unveiled the Bronco as the world’s first SUV. Today, the American automotive imprint celebrates the 2020 return of the iconic mid-sized SUV with the showcase of its Bronco R Race Prototype, which will be going on the test of its lifetime at the Baja 1000.
In 1969, Rod Hall and Larry Minor drove a Ford Bronco to victory at the Mexican 1000 — a gruelling 1000 mile race that no other 4×4 has ever been able to duplicate. For the 2020 prototype, Ford’s performance team has referenced this and built the ultimate off-roading, all-terrain tackling Bronco R Race equipped with a twin-turbo EcoBoost engine that, as Brian Novak, Ford Performance off-road racing supervisor says, “[is] representative of what the production Bronco will offer.”
The racing prototype is built upon the modified architecture of the production model, coming equipped with an independent front suspension, a production-based five-link rear chassis and 37-inch tyres housing 17-inch rims. Novak said, “Like the original Bronco, we kept Bronco R’s design authentic and simple, with a roll cage on a production-style frame, and a five-piece lightweight body on top.”
Ford has added 15 LED light bars to the exterior, as well as a grille sporting the Bronco branding that’s expected to reach the production model. The Bronco R Race features custom-made parts developed using virtual reality, polygon modeling and 3D printing, which were produced as a result of problem-solving and decision making. Take a look at the Ford Bronco R Race Prototype in the gallery above, and stay tuned to HYPEBEAST for news on the Spring 2020 unveiling of its mass-production counterpart.
In other news, Hennessey Performance has built the first 1000 BHP Jeep Gladiator MAXIMUS.
